


Never Felt Better

by MiniMangaFan



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Deaf Character, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-10
Updated: 2014-03-10
Packaged: 2018-01-15 07:18:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1296262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniMangaFan/pseuds/MiniMangaFan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Institute National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris has been Courfeyrac’s school for as long as he can remember, having been born without hearing. He can lip read reasonably well but his strength lies in sign language. Courfeyrac likes to joke that he has wicked hands (the same joke that coaxed his first smile out of Grantaire). </p>
<p>The school runs after-class sessions where older kids will help out with younger kids learning sign language or just about anyone that’s struggling. It’s where he met Grantaire, one month ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Felt Better

**Author's Note:**

> this is for tumblr user [weretaire](http://weretaire.tumblr.com/)
> 
> the prompt: modern!courfeyrac/grantaire based off [this post](http://weretaire.tumblr.com/post/60084179354/lets-just-talk-about-deaf-courfeyrac-who-hasnt/)
> 
> the sign language that's used is LSF and I am not deaf so if you see anything that is incorrect/offensive please tell me so that I can change it as necessary.

Courfeyrac checks his watch: _15:17_. He rubs his sleeve against the whiteboard, wiping away leftover marks. _15:18._ He runs his hand through his hair. He flexes his fingers in his lap. He watches the other students settle down in pairs on the surrounding tables. _15:19_.

The doors to the main hall open and Grantaire steps through, his eyes darting from table to table. Courfeyrac beams and stands, waving him over.

Grantaire slouches as he walks to Courfeyrac, tugging his green knit hat over his ears. He slides onto the chair and stares at his hands for a moment before carefully signing, “Hello. How were your classes?”

“Maths was a nightmare,” Courfeyrac signs back slowly, letting Grantaire track his movements. “But Politics was exciting. I got into a debate with the teacher again and now I have a detention tomorrow lunch time.”

Grantaire grins and Courfeyrac’s heart flutters. It’s rare that Grantaire smiles like that, even rarer for him to laugh, so Courfeyrac treasures every second of it.

“That’s the...” Grantaire drops his hands and bites his lip. Courfeyrac can see his shoulders slumping even further, the crease deepening between Grantaire’s brows. “Third,” Grantaire mouths and carries on signing, “time this week?”

Courfeyrac nods. “And it’s only Wednesday.” He had hoped to get another smile out of Grantaire but his expression is devoid of any humour. He tugs his hat down further and glares at his hands as he rests them on the table.

Courfeyrac taps the back of one with his fingers to catch Grantaire’s attention. He signs “Third”, holding his thumb and first two fingers up just in front of his chest. He nods to Grantaire, who repeats the sign.

_Institute National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris_ has been Courfeyrac’s school for as long as he can remember, having been born without hearing. He can lip read reasonably well but his strength lies in sign language. Courfeyrac likes to joke that he has wicked hands (the same joke that coaxed his first smile out of Grantaire).

The school runs after-class sessions where older kids will help out with younger kids learning sign language or just about anyone that’s struggling. It’s where he met Grantaire, one month ago. He transferred from another Parisian school after he lost his hearing in a car accident. So far Grantaire’s picked up basic signs but he struggles with numbers and complicated sentences, especially as the syntax is so different.

Grantaire picks up the whiteboard pen and scrawls ‘ _what were you debating about?’_ in his messy script.

Courfeyrac takes the pen from Grantaire’s fingers and writes ‘ _minimum wage and whether or not it should be raised’_ on the board. He pauses before jotting down ‘ _your handwriting is still shit’_. He signs out the sentences and gives Grantaire the chance to copy them, repeating them back to Courfeyrac until he’s satisfied.

Grantaire flips him off then, snatching the pen back to sketch a quick doodle of Courfeyrac’s infamous Politics teacher with steam coming out of his ears. ‘ _Not entirely worthless, eh?’_ Grantaire writes.

“You’re not worthless,” Courfeyrac mouths carefully and signs it with a flourish. He grabs the pen and draws two stick men in the corner of the whiteboard, one with a head full of curls and one with a coloured in hat. Courfeyrac nearly draws them with their hands touching but he thinks better of it at the last second.

_‘You’re on par with Picasso’_ appears under Courfeyrac’s doodle, and they both smile at that.

Grantaire jumps as he starts writing again, the tail of an ‘ _a’_ stretching out over half the board. He slips his phone out of his pocket and frowns as he looks at it. Courfeyrac resists the urge to reach out and rest his hand on Grantaire’s, a silent reassurance that whatever it is, he’ll be fine.

“My mum,” Grantaire signs. “She wants me home. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow,” Courfeyrac signs in return. He waves his hand frantically just as Grantaire stands and stretches, catching his attention. He mouths “Wait! Can I have your phone number?”

“My number?” Grantaire repeats.

Courfeyrac nods.

Grantaire picks up the pen and scribbles it on the board, signing it with an unnecessarily extravagant ‘ _R’_.

“Thank you,” Courfeyrac signs and Grantaire leaves, waving over his shoulder. He enters the number into his own phone straight away and sends a quick text to Grantaire - _guess who :)))))_ – before packing up his things and returning them to the cupboard at the back of the hall. He’s at home when he gets Grantaire’s text in reply, grinning as he opens it and taps out another message.

Courfeyrac is used to being in love. He falls hard and fast and often, enough that people tend to dismiss his feelings because he’s young and ‘fickle’, but Grantaire is important to him. From the second Grantaire first smiled at him, Courfeyrac knew he was a goner.

He doesn’t always see Grantaire around school in the day (he keeps an eye out for him but their different classes mean they’re usually on opposite ends of the site) so their only real interaction is the after school sessions together. They’re Courfeyrac’s favourite part of the day.

It’s around three months of pining from Courfeyrac’s part when Grantaire writes ‘ _what are the signs to ask someone on a date?’_ on the whiteboard.

Courfeyrac’s heart stops for a split-second. Grantaire has been happier recently, joking and laughing and actually showing Courfeyrac sketches he’s been drawing rather than covering them up and signing that they’re not very good. Courfeyrac had put it down to Grantaire’s growing comfort around him but he was mistaken.

He signs “Will you go on a date with me?” to Grantaire, keeping a soft smile on his face and wishing that the ground would swallow him whole.

Grantaire signs it back to Courfeyrac.

“Yes, that’s right,” Courfeyrac signs.

Grantaire repeats it again.

“Your signs are much more accurate now,” Courfeyrac tells him because it’s true and he hasn’t got much else to say.

“No, Courfeyrac,” Grantaire signs and Courfeyrac adores the personal sign Grantaire created for his name (fingers tapping the left side of his chest in time with his heartbeat). “Will you go on a date with me?”

Courfeyrac’s mouth drops. He stares at Grantaire and nods slowly. “Yes, yes, Grantaire, yes.”

Grantaire beams. Courfeyrac leans over the table, pressing his lips to Grantaire’s and kissing him fervently, with everything he has. When he feels Grantaire smile into the kiss, his fingers reaching up to toy with Courfeyrac’s curls, his heart feels like it’s going to explode. He’s never felt better.

**Author's Note:**

> hey look i have a [tumblr](http://achilleus.tumblr.com/)  
> come say hi!
> 
> the resource that was extremely helpful writing this was [this website](http://www.sematos.eu/lsf.html)


End file.
